In the midst of an extremely tightlipped homicide investigation, Fairfield police on Tuesday released the name of the 13-year-old girl whose body was discovered in Allan Witt Park on Friday as Genelle Renee Conway-Allen.

In a press release, authorities said she was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans-style leggings while carrying a pink Hello Kitty backpack late Friday afternoon near Railroad Avenue in Suisun City, according to the Fairfield Police Department.

Over the weekend, friends and well-wishers created a memorial of flowers, stuffed animals, letters, candles and balloons in the park near the parking lot where Genelle's naked body was discovered.

"It just seems like every month there's a crime," bemoaned Shipett Blanson, who has lived in Fairfield for the past 15 years. "Fairfield wasn't like that before. It's hit home."

Blanson came to the park Tuesday afternoon after seeing a glimpse of one of Genelle's pictures that made up the makeshift memorial and wanting to take a closer look in fear that she may have been someone she knew.

Most tragic of all to Blanson, she said, was the calloused and blasé attitude that many seem to have regarding crimes of this magnitude.

"How can you be so numb about it?"

Blanson said though she refuses "to live in fear," it is important to remain aware and not be "living in a bubble" to the extent of being shocked at reports of crime within the community.

"There's no perfect town. There's evil all around," she said.

Because of that, Blanson said the tragedy has inspired her to live her life "with a purpose more so now that (she) ever did before."

More than 60 tall votive candles arranged in the shape of a cross flanked the left side of the memorial overflowing with a mass of stuffed teddy bears, bouquets of flowers and red heart-shaped mylar balloons.

Fairfield resident Candida Tenorio was among the stream of visitors to the site.

"I have nephews and nieces her age," Tenorio said as she looked down on the collection of gifts amassed within a stone's throw of a sign warning parkgoers that the "premises are monitored live by closed circuit TV."

"It's just so sad to see someone that young go," she said, adding she hopes police catch whoever is responsible for the crime.

"I pray for the family," she added. "It's just so sad. It breaks my heart."

Authorities started searching for Genelle after her legal guardian filed a missing person report with Suisun City police around 5:44 p.m. Thursday, when the teen failed to return to her foster home after school, said Suisun City police Cmdr. Tim Mattos.

The search continued up until midnight, when Mattos said the trail grew cold. Officers resumed their search efforts around

6:45 a.m. Friday, just as a Fairfield police officer near Allan Witt Park, 1714 West Texas St., was flagged down by a citizen who spotted what they believed may have been a dead body.

Following the citizen's lead, the officer found Genelle's body in the park's parking lot, police said.

Officials said investigators from both the Fairfield and Suisun City police departments have been "working non-stop since Genelle's discovery." A formal press conference hosted by both police departments will be held today to provide updates on the case and the progress of the investigation.

Authorities are asking anyone who may have seen her in anytime between Thursday afternoon until she was discovered Friday to call the Fairfield Police Department Major Crimes Unit 24-hour tip line at 428-7345. Callers can remain anonymous, officials said.

A candlelight vigil in Genelle's memory will be held at 6:30 p.m. this Friday in Allan Witt Park.